NBA News

Carlos Boozer added 16 points in Byron Scott's first win as Lakers coach. Their victory left the Sixers as the NBA's only winless team at 0-7.

Lin and Boozer's offense dominated the third, when the Lakers were down by seven before a 25-6 run sent them into the fourth leading 76-64.

It was a lead they never gave up (see full recap).

Deng scores 30, Heat roll over Mavs
DALLAS -- Luol Deng is still learning how he fits as Miami's new No. 3 with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

The Dallas Mavericks might say he's coming along just fine.

Deng scored a season-high 30 points, Bosh and Wade added 20 apiece and the Heat stayed perfect against Dallas since the 2011 NBA Finals with a 105-96 victory on Sunday night.

The Heat have won seven straight regular-season games against Dallas since the Mavericks took three in a row in the finals to capture their first championship (see full recap).

Suns rally to deal Warriors 1st loss
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns didn't do much different to defend the high-flying Golden State Warriors in the second half Sunday night. They just stuck with their effective bench play and let the Klay Thompson-less Warriors get tired and make mistakes in a fourth quarter that saw the Suns outscore them by 20.

Phoenix zoomed past the Warriors to a 107-95 victory on the strength of a 36-16 fourth quarter, leaving the NBA with no unbeaten teams.

Isaiah Thomas scored 15 of his 22 points in the fourth and fellow reserve Gerald Green added 16 of his 19 points in the final quarter, when the Suns surged ahead after trailing by eight through three (see full recap).

After losing to both L.A. teams on last-second three-pointers, Dallas is eager to get back in the win column visiting a red-hot Utah team on Thursday.

The Jazz started the season 1-3 (SU and ATS), but since turning the calendar to 2012, they have the NBA’s best record at 8-1 SU (7-2 ATS). But before dropping two nailbiters in L.A. by a combined five points, the Mavericks were also on fire, winning five straight and seven of eight (both SU and ATS). Dallas’ defense has been extremely stingy in the past seven games, limiting opponents to 78.9 PPG on 38.5% FG (28.6% threes). Although the Mavericks just played Wednesday night, they have shown a remarkable ability to win on zero days rest, going 17-9 ATS (18-8 SU) since the start of last season. And although the Jazz have historically been a tremendous home team, the Mavs won by 12 points and 17 points at EnergySolutions Arena last season. The pick here is underdog DALLAS to end its slide with a big road win.

The Mavericks have been tremendous defensively, but their offense continues to sputter.
Dirk Nowitzki (17.9 PPG, 46% FG, 25% threes) is averaging just 14.1 PPG (43% FG) in his past eight games, reaching 20 points just once in this span. He’s coming off a horrible 6-of-18 shooting night against the Clippers, but a date with Utah could be just what he needs to bust out of his slump. In last year’s four-game series sweep of the Jazz, Nowitzki averaged 24.8 PPG on 63% FG and grabbed 8.5 RPG.

SG Delonte West scored a season-high 17 points in the loss to the Clippers and made 3-of-5 from downtown. This was a great sign considering he entered the game 3-of-18 from three-point range. PG Jason Kidd hasn’t shot the ball well either since his return from injury (5-of-17 FG, 1-of-13 threes), but he did dish out 10 assists against the Clippers, eight more than he had against the Lakers on Monday. Since returning to Dallas in 2007-08, Kidd has 115 assists and 34 turnovers (3.4 ratio) in 13 games versus Utah.

Unlike the Mavs who gear much of their offense around Dirk Nowitzki, the Jazz are happy to share the wealth. Seven players are averaging more than eight points per game led by Al Jefferson (18.0 PPG, 9.3 RPG) and Paul Millsap (15.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG), the team’s top two scorers and rebounders. This duo has been largely responsible for the team’s 50.0 PPG in the paint this month, the second-highest total in the NBA. However, Dallas has allowed just 32.4 PPG in the paint in January, which is the lowest total in the league.

Utah also has two potent scorers off the bench in Josh Howard (10.7 PPG) and C.J. Miles (8.2 PPG). Howard could miss his third straight game on Thursday due to a quadriceps injury, but Miles has 36 points and 11 rebounds spanning just 47 minutes in his past two home games. PG Devin Harris will be going up against his former team in this matchup. Harris has shot the ball terribly this season, posting a career-worst 34.1% FG. But he’s starting to find his rhythm, scoring 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting in the past two games.

Last season, the Chicago Bulls pushed the Boston Celtics to the brink of a first round playoff exit, losing a classic series in seven games. It certainly doesn’t look as if the Bulls have that type of effort ready for 2010 versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron James has been his usual sterling self in getting his team to within one win of advancing to the second round. The decisive game could be Tuesday night in Cleveland, and Sportsbook.com oddsmakers weren’t shy in showing their support for the hosts, listing the Cavs as 12-point chalk.

The confidence with which the Cleveland Cavaliers play is flabbergasting. For three quarters of Game 3, Chicago took the action to Cleveland, holding a double digit lead most of the time. The Bulls were the aggressor and it appeared Cavs players were satisfied with their less than full effort. In the fourth quarter the Cavs came storming back with LeBron taking over the offense and his teammates knocking down three-pointers, finally succumbing by just two points 108-106, as Chicago made their free throws late.

The most stunning aspect of the closeness of that contest was the reaction of James and his teammates, not long faces from losing a game they could have won by playing all 48 minutes, but they were smiling, with a almost maniacal grin of “Oh man, we almost got’em, we’ll take care of this later”.

There were no smiles before Game 4 as King James led a tyrant army of mercenaries into the United Center and blew away their Windy City counterparts by 22. Cleveland returns home to end the series and is 18-6 ATS after a blowout win by 20 points or more.

Cleveland is starting to reap the rewards for trading for Antawn Jamison, who scored 24 points in Game 2. Jamison is highly respected around the league and didn’t come to Cleveland to improve his legacy, but rather to get a championship ring. At 33, Jamison is sensing his basketball mortality.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” he said. “I don’t have another five or 10 years left in this body. The sense of urgency is there, not only with myself but with the rest of these guys. That’s why I think it’s a great fit because we all have the same mentality. We are all trying to accomplish the same thing—right now. We’re not trying to wait until next year or the year after that.” The Cavs have covered 42 of their previous 66 playoff games.

Chicago is also sensing their mortality, about this season. Star guard Derrick Rose missed practice Monday to undergo an MRI on his right ankle and forward Luol Deng sat out with a sore knee and calf. The Bulls are once again dozen points underdogs and hope to hit enough shots to improve on a 19-10 ATS record revenging a same season loss.

The Cavaliers will look to polish this series off and most likely go on to face Boston next. They are 17-7 UNDER after winning by 20 or more points, with average margin of victory 13.9 points for this 8:00E TNT broadcast.